Electronics, Lighting, & Gadgets - Need Strong Headlight to See the Road!

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vja4Him
04-12-09, 08:04 PM
I'm looking for a strong headlight that will allow me to actually see the road clearly, to avoid obstacles. I would like to spend around $100, and would prefer AA or AAA rechargeable batteries.
What do you have/recommend that would meet my needs?
- Riding 4 Life
http://vj4him.blogspot.com/
10 Wheels
04-12-09, 08:09 PM
I have one. It is a Quality Road Light .
Easy to charge and use.
8 hour run time
Wide road beam
http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/b&m.asp
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=509519
bicycleflyer
04-12-09, 09:07 PM
You can sometimes catch the Dinotte Pro-series on sale at about a 100 sometimes. But for something AA powered, it's about the best there is.
http://www.dinottelighting.com/
Also take a look at the Princeton Tec Products. Some of their headlamps come in a Bike version too. Those would also be AA powered. I have a friend that rides long randonees that uses their Corona-Bike. Not enough light for me, but she loves it. I personally use the "EOS-Bike" on my helmet to suppliment my Dinotte.
http://www.princetontec.com/?q=home_page/view
Another good AA option is the Fenix L2D-Q5. I have one I use at work and it is a good flashlight. Couple that with a two-fish style lockblock and you have a nice bike light. I use it on my bike-friday when I travel and it does work good as a bike light. But I still prefer my Dinotte when at home with my regular bike.
http://www.brightguy.com/products/Fenix_L2D_Q5.php
Also check out the Candle Power forums. There are some bike specific threads that you may find of interest.
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?p=1755372
What constitutes "enough" light is a matter of debate and is a personal preference. No two people seem to ever agree.
Good luck to you
kjc9640
04-12-09, 10:07 PM
I just purchased the Dinotte Pro series about 2 weeks ago. It does put out a tremendous amount of light but I am not happy with the run time. Mine has yet to live up to specs ( I run on high 95% of the time). It is my suggestion that you carry backup charged batteries if you are out long at night and have these lights. Yesterday I approached a cyclist that had the Dinotte red tail light and I was not impressed with it at all (It was mid afternoon). I mention this because I am hearing a lot of people suggesting to run lights in the daytime. I am not wanting to start a discussion about daylight lights I am just saying that I was not impressed with the one this gent had on. good luck on your purchase whatever it is.
Bike flyers comment...
What constitutes "enough" light is a matter of debate and is a personal preference. No two people seem to ever agree.
Bike flyer makes a good point about how much light is enough.
Jim
JinbaIttai
04-12-09, 11:06 PM
I recommend a pair of P7 flashlights.
It's too bad they don't have any stickies that would shed more light on this question. :sarcasm:
well, fenix does offer the TK40, but it's way more than $100.
you're stuck with lower powered LEDs if you stick to AA, unfortunately.
davidad
04-13-09, 05:53 PM
You could get two of these or the RC N3 ll with twofish holders for less than $60. http://www.shiningbeam.com/servlet/the-53/Romisen-RC-dsh-N3-CREE-Q5/Detail
http://www.batteryjunction.com/twofish-lockblocks.html
This light runs for about 4 hours on two Sanyo 2700 AA batteries.
Unknown Cyclist
04-13-09, 06:26 PM
A P7 torch, batteries and charger will cost you less than $100 and give you more light than anything else at that price.
Why settle for less ?
:)